 ON THE READY — Debbie Egel,
PEF chair of the Joint Labor-Management Committee for
OASAS, participates in joint emergency preparedness
training for that agency.
PEF, OASAS
train workers to prepare for emergencies
By SHERRY HALBROOK
State agencies are still feeling the aftershocks of the
devastating attacks on the World Trade Center and the
ensuing bioterrorism events of 2001.
With the support of PEF, those terrible experiences are
becoming valuable lessons that have opened the doors for
a new joint commitment by labor and management to prevent
disasters and develop effective plans to deal with
emergencies at both the agency and worksite levels.
Joint training in emergency preparedness at the state
Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services is a
recent example.
“Both PEF and management see this training as an
essential first step in the joint development of improved
emergency plans for each OASAS location,” said
Debbie Egel, PEF chair of the Joint Labor-Management
Committee at OASAS.
Responded to 9/11 attacks
In the hours immediately after the attack on September
11, 2001, the agency’s New York City-based addiction
treatment centers (ATCs) were asked to move all stable
clients to the next level of care, to make room to
receive patients from neighboring hospitals. Tragically,
those patients never came, as very few injured people
survived the attack.
PEF members in OASAS also volunteered as mental health
counselors and gave aid to the families, the recovery
workers, and community members affected by the disaster.
“These events brought home the need for us to
develop effective emergency programs that would prepare
employees to respond appropriately to emergencies such as
fires, explosions, bomb threats, violence or terrorist
activities,” Egel said. Meanwhile, PEF took the lead
in developing training for emergency preparedness,
response and evacuation. That training, developed by the
PEF Health and Safety Department, includes slides,
discussion and case studies to review the essential
components of an emergency preparedness plan. And a
trainer from the International Chemical Workers Union was
brought in to supplement the PEF staff in presenting the
training.
Ready to work
together
“We had worked with management at OASAS previously
to produce programs such as Violence in the Workplace and
Critical Incident Stress Management, with a resulting
crisis response team,” Egel said. “So, it was a
natural fit for OASAS to work with PEF again to develop
emergency preparedness training specifically tailored for
the agency’s 13 ATCs, two administrative offices and
several field offices. Acting Commissioner Robert L.
Bruno endorsed the program which was formalized in a
signed agreement.”
PEF Statewide Health and Safety Chair Ross Aronson
coordinated the logistics of the program in collaboration
with Egel and Tom Torino, the management L-M chair for
OASAS.
The first training was held May 7 at PEF’s New York
City office for PEF and management representatives from
each work location, and a second training was held June
18 in Syracuse for all of the upstate employees.
“This training raises our level of awareness and
changes the way we look at things,” said Cathy
Murphy, a PEF member at Creedmoor ATC.Murphy and other
participants will use the training to help develop
emergency response plans for their worksites.
|
Site Map What's New Search COMMUNICATOR HOMEPAGE
Inside This Issue:
Features
Lawmakers override all 119
budget vetoes
Set state safety, security
standard
Thank your legislators
Departments
President's Message:Our work
continues
You Said It: Member's
letters this month
PS&T Contract Update:
Pay hikes hot topic
Member Highlights;Keeping up
the good fight
Retirees In Action: New
officers take the reins
PEF Membership Benefits
Program & Travel Corp
Nurses' Station:
- Derail unsafe staffing, put
laws on the fast track
- Roswell Park honors nurses
- Nurses conference addresses
timely topics
Legislative Action:
- Union presses lawmakers on
contracting out
- Legislature passes 11 bills
PEF supports
- Don’t let feds
shortchange NY
Health Benefits:
- Feds aim to guard your
privacy
- College students need shot
in arm
- HMO applied wrong rule for
disabled kids
Union Matters
PEF, OASAS train workers for
emergencies
EAP Coordinator earns
Quality Service Award
Making state park system a
summer delight
Pre-Tax Transit pilot put on
hold
Balloting brings 13
newcomers to E-Board
Convention 2003: Delegate
preview
You can COPE. Join today!
Other Links
Professional Directory
Members' Classified
Member Communicator Feedback
Do You Prefer The Online
Edition?
How To Advertise Here
PEF Pride Store
The Communicator Staff
Questions on this site? Email the comwebmaster.
 Register here on the
PEF
Member Network.
 Click Here email notice when next issue is
online
|